Running Away
by pandorad24
Summary: Because Angel was gone. And because he could have stopped it.


**Hey guys - I'm back! I know it hasn't been very long, but I was trying to start on my original story, and my mind was totally blank. Bah. Who knew writing original stuff would be so difficult? Not me! **

**Well, this is just a oneshot that's been on my mind for some time. I was listening to "Running Away" by Midnight Hour (a beautiful song that REALLY should be on iTunes...), and this is what became of it. I didn't make it a songfic, 'cause, let's face it, I suck at those (I eventually deleted that one I wrote forever ago, it was that awful). Anyway, enjoy.**

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><p>It had been hours since we left the blast site. Fang and his ragtag group had long since disappeared again from our lives, and Max had pulled herself together as best she could and announced that we were taking off again. To find her mom and sister, and possibly even Jeb. We flew until we were about to pass out from fatigue – exactly where we were headed, I didn't know. I think everyone just wanted to get as far away as possible from the heartache that was tearing the flock apart.<p>

Spirits were running low as we huddled around the dull fire I'd coaxed out of some damp wooden mulch we'd found all over the playground where we were settled for the night. I heard Nudge crying softly as we all lay curled up on the grass waiting for sleep to come, and Max moved from her place next to Dylan to attempt to comfort her.

"I can't believe my sister's gone," Gazzy muttered numbly beside me, and I felt a pang of grief surge painfully in my chest. Of course he couldn't believe it. None of us could.

I wrapped my arms around the little guy, and he buried his face in my shirt. "I wish you had been there," he choked, on the verge of tears. "You c-could have stopped the bombs… you could have saved her."

And suddenly, I wasn't there, but miles and miles away. Back at the crumbled stadium, stumbling over the ruble as searched desperately for a sign of her, a sign of life. _Angel_…

I started to shake, as his words settled in, shattering what was perhaps the last shred of sanity I had left. _I could have stopped it… I could have saved her…_

And just then, I knew I had to be very, very far away from there. As far away as possible.

Because she was dead. My sweet baby sister, that I had held when she was a tiny infant fresh out of the School, had comforted when she was upset, had patched up with band-aids when she scraped her knee and had brushed away the curls from her forehead to kiss her goodnight. Because I could have stopped it.

And because I couldn't take it here anymore.

I remember getting up and offering to take first watch for the night, and as soon as I was far enough away, I was gone. I took off silently, and blindly flew for anywhere that I wasn't surrounded with the mourning hearts of the flock. Now if only I could escape my own torment.

Guilt didn't cover it. This was beyond regret, or remorse. It was like I was being eaten alive by Gazzy's words, and what my mind felt obliged to throw in to add to the pain. I was bombarded by snippets of memories, of Angel when she was younger, how she would drag me along to play whatever game she had come up with next, and I would just follow along, because I loved to make her happy. The bright sound of her laugh, so clear in my mind, struck me like a bullet.

_You could have stopped the bombs. You could have saved her_.

I couldn't go back to them now. Not now that I realized what I had done to the flock. Did everyone think that way about me? Did they all secretly hate me for it? Had I been down there with them today, helping Gazzy disable the bombs, I could have prevented all this grief. We would all be together, celebrating another victory that wasn't marred by heartbreak.

But I wasn't there, and it was my fault. I hadn't known there were bombs down there, but when Max and Dylan went looking for Gaz and Angel, I should have thought to help them. But I didn't. And now my little girl was dead.

I didn't know where I was going, but one thing I knew for sure: I would never let them find me… and I was never coming back. It wasn't just this that made me want to leave – the flock had been slowly falling to pieces ever since Fang left. Before that. I had to face it – my family just wasn't much of a family anymore. I guess being alone was just easier to deal with than that truth.

And then, as if my life had become some cliché tragedy, I felt a drop of rain patter against my face as I flew. Several more chilling drops quickly followed it, and it wasn't long till I was soaked to the bone. I didn't mind.

Because now, I could just pretend the water flowing down my cheeks was simply a cause of the torrential downpour around me.

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><p><strong>Aww. Poor Iggy. :(<strong>

**Sorry, that was extremely short. I may add another chapter to this, if you guys want a happier ending or whatever. Let me know if you want me to continue it, but I can't promise anything. I really do need to start on that original story...**

**Please review! And, if you don't mind taking the time, you really should check out that song - I'm surprised I haven't broken the YouTube reply button for how many times I've listened to it...**


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